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US astronaut Lisa Nowak: a short biography

By New Scientist Space and Reuters

From 19 to 29 January 2004, six astronauts went on a survival training course in Canada. From left to right, they were Dominic Antonelli, Christer Fuglesang, Lisa Nowak, Dmitry Kondratiyev, Julie Payette and Bill Oefelein

(Image: Canadian Space Agency)

US astronaut Lisa Nowak faces a charge of attempted murder in Florida for assaulting a woman she considered a rival for the affections of fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein. Here are some facts about her background&colon;

 A 43-year-old married mother of three, Nowak spent 10 days with five other astronauts – including Oefelein – in a survival training exercise in Canada in 2004. After being trained for four days by the Canadian military, the astronauts were dropped off in the snowy backcountry of northern Quebec. There, they moved camp each night, trekking a total of more than 20 kilometres.

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 Nowak earned her wings as a Naval Flight Officer in 1987 and logged more than 1500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. In 1993, she was selected for the US Naval Test Pilot School. After graduation in 1994, she worked on the acquisition of new systems for naval aircraft at the Naval Air Systems Command.

 Selected for the astronaut program in April 1996, Nowak reported for duty at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, US. She qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist after two years of training and evaluation.

 Nowak received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy in 1985. In 1992, she received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering and a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School.